What you've seen??

[chuck locke]

Knowing that a lot of you guys and gals have been collecting a long time I was wondering if wwe should get a thread going on some of the most unique items you have seen.

Let me start. The story on this(and I knew the Vet who brought home the item is this:

This vet came upon a German soldier lying dead next to a burning tank in Italy. Next to the tank lay the soldiers helmet which after putting the fire out on the chin strap he carried the rest of the way thru the war with him.

This helmet is a transitional helmet camoed, double decal (decals painted over). But best of all this soldier had(in white paint) printed at least twenty of the towns and campaigns he was in on it. I haven't seen the helmet in a number of years but can remember distinctly the name "KASSERINE' painted across the top and another one "OINE" painted on the side. My friend who's fathere had brought this helmet home researched some of the names and a number of them were Spanish towns.

So it would appear that this soldier had served in the Spanish Civil War as well aas in Africa and Italy. My friend still has the helmet so if I can get some pictures of it I'll post here. Not only did he get this helmet but he also got his buckle (not just any buckle) but an army buckle he had sanded the eagle off of and brazed a bronze, third place finish, sports award. A most unique thing. Of all the helmets I've seen this is the only one I've seen with the writing on it.

No. 2 - not unique but when very new to the hobby, I was friends with a vet who had been wounded and came home early. One of the items he brought home was an absolutely perfect (no scratches nothing) double decal transitional helmet. It had the light green paint and was absolutely perfect. Upon his death I had the opportunity to buy either this helmet or a 4 x 8 flag for fifty dollars. It was all I had to spend. I bought the stupid flag. I would bet that helmet today would fetch over a thousand dollars, that's how good it was.

Just to show you how much research I did early I let a dealer buy a dagger I got from a guy's attic for $250.00. I thought it was NSKK because the blade was inscribed SA slogan rather than the SS slogan. Wasn't until later I found out that a black handle with SS runes and the SA inscription was an early SS dagger. Now you see why I don't trust some dealers to much.

OK someone elses turn. Chuck

[CSP]

When I had been colleting for about 8 years (I started when I was 16), I was offered a HBT panzer wrapper, complete with inignia in a trade. I was a "panzer" collector but had no idea what this was other than the worst fake I had ever seen. Several years later, as people with a great deal of experience more than I, began writing books, I discovered that there was such a beast as an HBT panzer wrapper. 20 years later, I had my second shot at one...only now I pay over $2k for top and bottom. Back in the 70's I could have traded for about $200 equivalent.
Scott

[Matt L]

Really neat pieces

I've got quite a few rare and interesting items- but a few stand out because of their stories:

First is an 8,8cm Panzergranate Patrone 39 KwK43- an AP round for the gun of a Koenigstiger. It's not in wonderful condition- the projectile is very rusted, the case's brass plate is flaking off and there is water-caused corrosion of the base to about 7" up- however, it was actually recovered from inside the turret of a Koenigstiger wreck found in what had been a heavy vehicle repair depot in the Ukraine late in the war. The turret was partly filled with water- thus the damage to the case. This particular vehicle actually had 24 Abschussringen (kill rings) on its barrel.

Second is a secton of Panzer IV track (4 links), still articulated, that was recovered from a field outside the village of Olkhovatka (Olchowatka)- just a little southwest of Ponyri in what was the north section of the Kursk salient in the summer of 1943. This village was in fact the southernmost point to which the 9. Armee penetrated during Unternehmen Zitadelle. My research suggests this track may have belonged to a vehicle from II./ Panzerregiment 3 of the 2. Panzer Division (Wiener). Their advance on 7.7.43 took them first 3500m southeast to Hill 257.0, 3500m north of Olkhovatka and then 6000m southwest to a point 1000m west of Hill 231.1 which is approximately 1500m from the center of the village.

I also recently acquired a mint-condition 12,8cm Panzergranat 43- the AP projectile for the main gun of a Jagdtiger. It is not only the extreme rarity of this piece of ordnance that makes it fascinating, but also that the completion date is actually stamped on it- 4.3.45- the guy I bought it from joked that on 4. March they must have been shooting them out of the factory windows (ha)- this one and a couple of others were found in the WASAG factory that made them in Eastern Germany. Oh yeah- it weighs a ton too- almost 30kg (65lbs) without the bursting charge or base fuze/tracer. It had to be no fun being one of the loaders in a Jagdtiger...

[JaimeH]

As a young child (about 7 or 8 ) when we visited my grandmothers home, we (brother and myself) would sleep in her attic bedrooms where my uncle stored his war booty. I remember a Heer dagger and a sword, but what I remember the most is his black with white sling K98 with bayonet. I now realize it was a Allegmeine SS parade rifle. And no I did not inherit them. I did end up with a .25 auto pistol and holster he got at Anzio.

[chuck locke]

JaimeH, is the .25 caliber pistol a Frommer-Lilliput (spelling)? I also have a German .25 caliber auto pistol (above) that was made in the twenties. It has a military style holster. The German military deemed it to small to incorporate so I read somewhere, and the pistol because of it's size became a gun many women carried. Mine also came out of an attic with the vets 1911 .45 caliber and a Mauser. I had to sell the .45 but still have the mauser and the Frommer-lilliput. Chuck

[JaimeH]

It was a MAB, which I believe is French, but was contracted to manufacture weapons for the Reich. I no longer have the gun but I have the holster, it's brown leather, flapped, a Berretta fits perfectly in it.

[Dez H]

Well here is one of the rarer or more unusual items in my collection. It is a very small piece of brickwork hacked out of the wall of the Fuhrerbunker, taken from Hitler’s study, this piece was “removed” by an American GI in 1945. Starring at it gives you an uneasy feeling; imagine an entire wall made of little gold bricks by candlelight. In the background Russian artillery fire, smashing up Berlin. Definitely not something you would see everyday.

Anyone else with something like this in thier collection?

[Stijn David]

Hello,


I got some years ago a wood Model Ju 52 made from a German soldier who was here in occupied Belgium , its made as a money box .

THe model is really nice made and painted Grey complete with swastika's , 3 engines, etc ... , its about 1 meter by 1 meter large and back then ( somewhere between 1940 - 1944 ) the person ( a friend of my parents ) from who i received it was a little kid by whom the some Germans where stationed .
He has kept this piece his whole life on his attic

Altough not a award or similar ( high dollar ) German piece => its rather unique and i like the little story behind it

I wil try to make some pictures and post them .

FRiendly Greetings,